Master your finishing: The reverse pass to cross and finish

All good strikers have a knack for being in the right place at the right time. This is no accident.

Some strikers are born with natural instinct, others not, but every penalty box assassin masters their craft on the training ground.

More after the break

Jimmy Gilligan, head coach of the Nike Academy, has devised a drill that trains strikers to steal a crucial half yard of space and then have the composure and range of finishing to turn any cross into a goal.

“We’re looking at a number of finishes on this drill - it can be with the head, it can be with a volley, a little sidefoot or a toe poke,” said Gilligan.

“We’re also dealing with crosses from all sorts of areas - from deep crosses to pull backs from the byline.”

Introduce this drill to your training sessions and you will never arrive too late, too early, just right on time.

You can find out more about how you can get involved with the Nike Academy, and watch the players’ progress this season, by visiting facebook and NikeFootball.com.